


Embalmed

by Nerdanel



Category: Lessa (Webcomic), Lessa the Crimson Knight (Manhwa)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Well - Freeform, and then forgot about it for a while, as it is, because I wrote it as a quick ficlet, have at, so I'm contributing to it, spoilers for the ending of second arc, this fandom deserves so much more traffic than it has
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 20:35:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7948141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdanel/pseuds/Nerdanel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A pleasant dream for the future and a moment in the aftermath where everything ends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Embalmed

**Author's Note:**

> There are spoilers! The major character death warning applies to them, please heed them!

Lessa had made pancakes that morning.

Rano woke to the sound of sizzling and the low murmur of conversation coming from the kitchen. He rubbed his cheek into the pillow for a while, warring against the desire to sleep in some more and the need to fill his stomach. Eventually, his stomach won and he sat up, grumbling under his breath. Lucy's tinkling laughter drifted into the room, followed by Lessa's soft chuckles and Rano glowered into the semi-darkness. They were having fun without him, the bastards. He pulled up his shorts higher and yawned, stretching and twisting until his bones creaked. It was time to go.

The kitchen was well-lit, sunlight pouring in from the windows next to the counter, making him forget that it was almost November and fall was already over. Lucy's head was bent over her plate as she tucked into her breakfast, and Lessa stood over at the stove, his back turned to both of them. So naturally, it was his sister who noticed him first, her face breaking into an easy smile and Rano's annoyance cleared like morning mist clearing with the sun.

"Good morning," she said, handing him an empty plate and jerking her head in Lessa's direction.

"Morning," Rano replied and took her offering. Lessa turned around at that moment and smiled at him as well – one that lit his face up and crinkled his eyes. Without a word, he heaped Rano's plate with fresh pancakes and sat down with his own share. "Thanks," Rano offered and dug into it. They were delicious, as usual.

Lucy was the first to finish. She put the dishes into the sink and picked up her keys from the table. "I'll be going home now. Thanks for letting me stay over, Lessa."

"This is my house too," he muttered, bringing up the age-old argument. Lucy ignored him with a snort and left them to their breakfast. Lessa brought him some coffee later and they both retired to the living room, matching ugly lime-green mugs in hand. His was getting a little chipped, but it still served him well. Lessa certainly did not care for material possessions as much, so he barely ever noticed and Rano always made sure to give him the one that was not broken.

They curled up on the couch together, Lessa pressed to Rano's side, his soft grey hair brushing Rano's cheek. Rano turned on the television for background noise – news was just as mindless as anything else, and drank his coffee, enjoying the warmth of Lessa's body. Lessa rested his head against Rano's arm, flipping through the newspaper and sipping his coffee intermittently. Rano turned a little to accommodate Lessa better and looked at him, mostly out of habit, taking in his unlined face and bright eyes. Compared to the past, his eyes were less clouded, his mouth rarely downturned in a frown. It wasn't that Lessa smiled a lot – he still did it for women, all of them, and not Rano, but that was okay.

He slipped his fingers under Lessa's chin and tilted his face up, mesmerised even now, and Lessa blinked at him curiously. Rano shook his head, before leaning down to press a soft kiss over Lessa's lips. Lessa's eyes fluttered close and his lips quirked into a fond smile right against Rano's, and Rano's heart squeezed inside his chest.

He knew, even as he traced Lessa's face with his thumb, still kissing him, that Lessa was going to outlive them all. Lessa was a god and Rano was…

Rano had been an Emissary for Ra. Now he was nothing. When he died, his soul was going to disappear at the edge of the universe under Ra's control. He was never going to reincarnate. And that, he thought as he gathered Lessa to himself and felt him melt against him, was worth it. In the hard-won quiet of his old age, he had Lessa, he had Lucy and his friends – what more could he want?

What more could he want indeed, he thought as Lessa grew cold in his arms and the sunlight dimmed to a weak, wintry glow. Rano stiffened and looked around, neck twisting to look everywhere to find the cause of the sudden shift in atmosphere but nothing made sense. Lessa was all but transparent in his arms, dissolving into shimmering dust when Rano tried to squeeze him close, and the light faded into nothing and Rano was falling through the well he'd once travelled. A long, long time ago. Where he had first seen what he'd done to Lessa.

The memory was like an old wound that has scabbed over, but if scratched would start bleeding right away. Unpleasant enough for Rano to want to tear himself away from the reality he was currently in, and as a result, the darkness of the well morphed into something less nauseating. He woke up in the ruins of the castle Lessa and Ares had built together, brick by brick, over a thousand years ago. Ra had retreated back into his body, and Lessa was gone – gone with Ares' soul to guide him where it belonged. The sun was rising in the east, but none of its warmth reached Rano.

Lessa might not be coming back.

Rano shivered a little and got to his feet, leaning against one of the walls to stare at the sun accusingly. "That was an unpleasant dream." It had felt real, too real, and that was the worst part. Rano could see himself want it, and wanting things never seemed to work out for him. He was not supposed to want. "There was no need to show me that." He complained, tugging his coat closer and resting his head against the unyielding walls around him. He felt cold, because he knew Lessa might not be coming back. Ares was gone and he had taken Lessa with him. Perhaps because Lessa had never belonged to him – Lessa had come to this world for Ares' sake, and once Ares was no longer there, he returned from whence he came. "This is really shitty." He said to the sky again, kicking a stone away from his feet.

Ra did not answer him.

Rano stuffed his hands into pockets, pushed himself off the wall and scowled once at the sky, knowing full well that Ra was watching. At least, he still had Lucy, he reasoned to himself. He'd always have Lucy. Besides, he still needed to clean up the mess Ares had made because that was mostly his fault, too. Once he had done that, though, he was going to take Lucy and retire. Have a vacation or something. "Then I'll hand in my resignation, you hear me?" He said out loud into the resounding silence.

Then, moments later when there no answer forthcoming, Rano raised his middle finger to the sun and walked on without looking back.


End file.
